Wedding Ardilaun House Hotel Galway

It was an absolute treat to work with Aisling and Kevin for their recent intimate wedding in Mervue Galway followed by a reception in the Ardilaun Hotel Salthill.

Two warm, engaging, approachable, and sincere people is how I’d describe Aislin & Kevin. I would have covered Kevin’s brother’s wedding (Brian & Tara) a number of years ago and it was a treat to see familiar faces again.

Aisling is a nurse and if I didn’t know that prior to the wedding, it would be easy to guess that. She’s a caring person (….like all nurses I’ve work with)….she doesn’t sweat the small stuff and basically seems to have an appreciation for family and friends.

Bridal Preparations St Jame’s Road Mervue

It was a treat calling to her on wedding morning and a pleasure to meet her parents Geraldine & James. They’re proud Mayo people and home is Achill….a place where I love going for visits with my family…awesome nature.
Aisling’s sisters Carol & Emma were bridesmaids and all three girls were simply happy out and up for a bit of craic on wedding day….and I think the photos of them show that. My buddy and neighbour John Murphy of Avalon Video as looking after the video side of things and we had some good banter with everyone in St James Rd on wedding morning.
Fair play to Marian and Vicky, the girls from Hair Flair for helping Aisling look as good as she did, and indeed for being as prompt and punctual as they were! Must give an honorable mentioned to Tracy Bridal too for the awesome dress Aisling wore. Katie Connell looked after all things make up and as the photos show, she did an awesome job.

Aisling lives literally a stone’s throw from the church and could easily have walked there on wedding day….but it was another treat to see the exceptionally friendly “Mike” from Costelloe’s of Corofin driving her there. Mikes a good person., a team player and I always enjoy crossing paths with him on wedding days.

Wedding Holy Family Church Mervue

Kevin was in good spirits when I arrived at the church…..anytime I’ve met him previously, he’s always been outgoing, personable and jovial…and thankfully he was no different on wedding day. He was accompanied by his two brothers Stephen and Tommy who were also his groomsmen…and just like the girls, they enjoyed their laughs!! Fair play to Eddie Murphy Menswear for having the lads looking as slick as they did!!

The Holy Family Catholic Church in Mervue looked amazing on wedding day, and fair play to Louise from Seamus’ Florist Sundries for the work she done on same. Not alone did it look amazing but it sounded awesome too. Aisling and Kevin had The Rascals providing the music….and the best compliment that I can give them is that they were distracting awesome. Beautiful three way harmonies as well as the lovely soft deep tones of the stand up base…it was truly awesome…a class job. Another class person there was the celebrant Fr Ray…my local PP. Love crossing paths with Fr Ray…..such an approachable man and a team player when it comes to wedding ceremonies.

Wedding Photos in the Claddagh Galway

After the ceremony, we availed of the shelter of the church for some family portraits before making the spin into Galway, and the Claddagh in particular for some photos. It was a pretty breezy day (not good for the ladies and their lovely hairstyles), but we had some fun and banter in the Claddagh during a brief photo-shoot. It’s always a treat to see complete strangers wishing couples the very best on wedding days…..I know Aisling isn’t fond of being the center of attention during same, but I’m sure she walked tall with her head up listening to the good wishes that were extended to her and Kevin while out and about.

Wedding Reception Ardilaun House Hotel Salthill

Our final port of call was the Ardilaun House Hotel in Taylors Hill Galway. Weddings in late August were taking place amidst the uncertainty that the Covid 19 Pandemic had caused, and numbers for the receptions were limited to numbers of 50 guests.
This is slightly less than the numbers that one would be accustomed to working with for summer weddings…..but what a marvelous event it was. I felt Aisling & Kevin’s wedding was a lot more intimate than what I normally work at, and indeed to listen to the noise that 50 guests made, one would presume that there was a lot more than that at it…..but it simply was the sound of close family and friends chin wagging and enjoying each others company…and it was a social event that we were all depraved off for several months prior to that….making it all the more enjoyable.

Thanks to Aisling and Kevin, and indeed their bridal party for coming out to the back gardens in the Ardilaun for a hand full of photos…..we had shelter there from the beautiful mature trees and it lent itself to some nice wedding photography.

The Ardilaun Hotel looked lovely and the magnificent cake by Lillies & Pearls as well as the candy cart by Candy Cravers Tuam ensured that all those with a sweet tooth (namely the photographer) were well catered for.

Your two good people Aisling & Kevin….two people that I wish the very best for. A man on a bike can see that your a strong couple that are so suited to each other and for a multitude of reasons, I’ll always have very fond memories of your big day.

I wish you both the very best and please God we’ll cross paths again in the not too distant future….until then, stay safe and mind each other!!

Some photos of the day below with a photo slideshow at the bottom of the page. More weddings from the Ardilaun Hotel by clicking here